Characters
- Drusas Achamian (Droo-sass Ah-kay-me-on), a 47 year-old Mandate sorcerer. He is plagued by recurring dreams of the great Seswatha and the First Apocalypse, and of the nightmarish Consult and searches for evidence that they still exist whilst being dragged into the Holy War alongside Kellhus, Cnaiür and others.
- Cnaiür urs Skiötha (Nay-yur), a 44 year-old Scylvendi barbarian, Chieftain of the Utemot. He is the first to encounter the mysterious Kellhus, who enlists his aid as a guide through the lands of Eärwa. Through a series of events, he is elevated to the role of leading the Holy War to Shimeh but slowly descends into madness as he struggles against the manipulations of Kellhus.
- Anasûrimbor Kellhus (Ah-nas-soor-imb-or Kell-huss), a 33 year-old Dûnyain monk. Although he claims to be the son of the great Anasurimbor Moenghus, and that he has been summoned by his father in a dream to go to the once Holy city of Shimeh, but is this really the truth or is he merely manipulating others to accomplish his goals?
- Esmenet (Ez-men-net) a 31 year-old Sumni whore. She has known and loved the sorcerer Achamian for a long time, but it is only when she encounters what might be the Consult that she is drawn into the Holy War bound for Shimeh.
- Sërwe (Sair-way), a 19 year-old Nymbricani concubine. She is rescued from slavers by Kellhus and Cnaiür, and although claimed by the warrior of the Utemot as his prize, she hates him and adores Kellhus.
There are also several 'supporting' characters who have significant roles throughout the books such as Achamian's old students Nersei Proyas and Krijates Xinemus and the Emperor's nephew Ikurei Conphas.
The Dûnyain - A hidden monastic sect that has repudiated history and animal appetite in the hope of finding absolute enlightenment through the control of all desire and circumstance. For two thousand years they have bred their members for both motor reflexes and intellectual acuity.
The Consult - The cabal of magi and generals that survived the death of the No-God in 2155 and has laboured ever since to bring about his return in the so-called Second Apocalypse. Very few in the Three Seas believe they still exist.
Read more about this topic: The Darkness That Comes Before
Famous quotes containing the word characters:
“Children pay little attention to their parent’s teachings, but reproduce their characters faithfully.”
—Mason Cooley (b. 1927)
“For our vanity is such that we hold our own characters immutable, and we are slow to acknowledge that they have changed, even for the better.”
—E.M. (Edward Morgan)
“There are characters which are continually creating collisions and nodes for themselves in dramas which nobody is prepared to act with them. Their susceptibilities will clash against objects that remain innocently quiet.”
—George Eliot [Mary Ann (or Marian)